Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari)

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) (アップアップガールズ（仮）) is a Japanese idol group formed in 2011.

They are also known as as UpGa (アプガ).

The idol unit consists of 7 members. Each one has been assigned a color.

Biography / History

They are former members of Hello! Pro Egg (Hello! Project).

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) were formerly known as Up-Front Girls (アップフロントガールズ).

All the members are also part of UFZS, a group that makes K-Pop dance covers.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) released their debut single Going my ↑ in April 2012.

The idol unit held its 1st live performance in September 2012 at Daikanyama Unit in Tokyo.

Sengoku Minami won the Sakidol Ace Survival (サキドルエースSurvival) season 2 in December 2012. The contest is organized by Weekly Young Jump (週刊ヤングジャンプ) magazine.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) signed under the label T-Palette Records in December 2012.

Sato Ayano and Sengoku Minami were starring in the horror movie 讐 〜Ada〜 released in July 2013. The other members of the unit appeared in the movie along with other idol groups such as LinQ, Vanilla Beans, Caramel Ribbon and Lyrical School.

They participated in Kawaii Pop Fes in Hong Kong in June 2014 alongside other idol groups.

The members gave a special live performance on the top of Mount Fuji in August 2014. After climbing the mountain during several hours, the difficulty of the challenge was to be able to sing and dance.

Team Makenki released its 1st single Mugen, Fly High!! (無限、Fly High!!) in September 2014.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) collaborated with reversal.dogi.design.works apparel brand to make original T-shirts in November 2014.

The girls joined the Japanese Self Defense Force in December 2014. They took up the challenge of military training at Utsunomiya garrison.

Sengoku Minami ran the Tanigawa half marathon in January 2015.

Sekine Azusa and Arai Manami participated in a campaign to promote Nagano and Gunma Prefectures in February 2015. They were appointed PR ambassadors.

Arai Manami appeared as a gravure idol in Big Comic Spirits (週刊ビッグコミックスピリッツ) magazine in March 2015.

The idol group participated in a commercial campaign for Fujitsu Arrows smartphones in May 2015.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) performed at the Honolulu Ekiden & Music Festival (ホノルル駅伝＆音楽フェス) in Hawaii in May 2015. The girls also ran the 42,2 km of the marathon team relay during this event.

As the name of the event suggests, the idol group gave concerts in the 47 prefectures of Japan during Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) Zenkoku 47 Todoufuken Tour 2015 ~Run! UpGa! Run! Dash~ (アップアップガールズ(仮)全国47都道府県ツアー2015〜RUN!アプガ!アプガ RUN!ダッシュ〜).

In August 2015, a limited edition of bicycles was created in collaboration with Japanese manufacturer Miyata. For the different versions, the handlebar, the saddle and the drink holder had the color of each member.

In August 2015, Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) collaborated with Pokemon. They tried to challenge Pikachu dance in a video.

Their summer song Upperlay (アッパーレー ; Appare) was released lately in August 2015. It was available on Avex Music Card.

In October 2015, Sengoku Minami and Furukawa Konatsu participated in the Gekikara Gourmet Matsuri (激辛グルメ祭り2015) food festival as part of the Alco & Peace no Gyoukai (アルコ＆ピースの業界！) TV show.

Manami Arai appeared in swimsuit on the cover of the November 2015 issue of Big Comic Spirits (週刊ビッグコミックスピリッツ) magazine.

In November 2015, Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) held a suprise live performance during the marriage reception of a former staff member.

They collaborated for the 3rd time with reversal.dogi.design.works apparel brand to create T-shirts, hoodies and shorts in November 2015.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) 2016 calendar includes photos taken during their trip in Hawaii.

In January 2016, Sekine Azuna and Inaba Manaka (Country Girls) worked as shrine maiden in a Shinto shrine for the TV program Alco & Peace no Gyoukai (アルコ＆ピースの業界！).

In February 2016, the members participated in an event to promote Pepper, the humanoid robot from Aldebaran.

They appeared as gravure idols in bikini on Big Comic Spirits (週刊ビッグコミックスピリッツ) in February 2016.

Manami Arai was starring in the drama Sakura Saku (サクラ咲く) along with Tasaki Asahi (Bitter & Sweet) and Kikkawa You. Sengoku Minami and Sekine Azusa have also played in the series. It started airing in March 2016 on NOTTV.

The members supported a campaign organized by Tokyo Yakult Swallows baseball team and Lawson from March to April 2016.

The single Party People Alien / Seven Peace (パーリーピーポーエイリアン / セブン☆ピース), on sale in April 2016, was their first CD to be release after a long period of one year. Several guests such as Hida Nanako (Idol Renaissance) and professional wrestlers appear in the MV. The video shooting was done at the Shinjuku Robot Restaurant. It was made in collaboration with Nunettes sunglasses.

The members have been appointed house party ambassadors by a Japanese association in April 2016.

Mori Saki, Sato Ayano, Saho Akari and Arai Manami opened Twitter accounts in April 2016. Sengoku Minami, Furukawa Konatsu and Azusa Sekine were already on the social network.

The members of the idol group went back to Hawaii to participate in the Honolulu Ekiden & Music Festival (ホノルル駅伝＆音楽フェス) and in a marathon team relay in May 2016.

They will perform at the Yosakoi Soran Festival (Yosakoiソーラン祭り) in June 2016 in the streets of Fukuoka. This event celebrates traditional folk song and dance from Hokkaido.

Sengoku Minami, Sato Ayano and Arai Manami appeared as gravure idols in My Girl magazine in June 2016.

Arai Manami threw the ceremonial first pitch before the baseball game Tokyo Yakult Swallows vs Orix Buffaloes at the Meiji Jingu Stadium in June 2016.

Up Up Girls (Kakko Kari) will give a concert at Nippon Budokan in November 2016.